What future for fashion? This is the question posed by the main players in the sector since the start of the health crisis. Let us try to respond to it with the most innovative and committed brands, platforms, concepts of the moment that are constantly reinventing themselves to respond to a new way of consuming.
Appointment with Timothée Linyer and Edouard Caraco, co-founders of The Bradery, which revives overstock to make luxury accessible and fight against waste.
How did the concept of “The Bradery” ?
We have been best friends since the age of 10. We grew up together in Paris, in the same college / high school, then we went to study in the same school in London. There, at 18, we set up a rental management business for Airbnb where we learn … everything! We then founded an e-commerce logistics start-up with three other partners. We then discover that even the most desirable brands have overstock: yet perfect pieces, ready to be loved. This second entrepreneurial adventure was also an opportunity for us to work a lot with Veepee by offering them logistics services. With a few contacts and the desire to shake up the sector, The Bradery was born!
Limiting waste and making high-end pieces accessible: is this the future of fashion?
Yes ! It is a solution to consume less, but better.
Today there are several online private sales platforms. What sets The Bradery apart from its competitors?
For brands, it is our selection, our content creation and our highly valuable audience: young people. For our customers, these are our handpicked sales, only beautiful brands at very good prices.
Being “born & raised“Instagram also sets us apart. Insta is an exceptional way to tell the story of our partner brands, but also the best way to get to know our community. We question it regularly, and all of our decisions are guided by it. Finally, Instagram is also a way to return to the authentic: by going behind the scenes of The Bradery and personifying the experience.
Why limit yourself to three weekly sales?
We select our partner brands. Fewer brands, but only the most beautiful. We saw two advantages: to offer our partners a qualitative and protective setting and not to flood our community with offers. This also allows us to conserve bandwidth for each of our partner brands. We recreate for each event content to tell the story of brands and make people want to buy pieces that are just waiting to be loved.
What types of brands are there every week?
Brands from the same universe: accessible luxury. Those that we all know like Maje, Bompard, American Vintage … But also younger creators that we love to highlight. This is particularly the case of Elise Chalmin, Modetrotter, Anja.
Can you tell us about The Bradery Cares, launched during containment?
Since the beginning of The Bradery, we had in mind to highlight causes that are important to us. The containment precipitated the launch. Our brand calendar was impacted with cancellations and we wondered how to reinvent ourselves. On March 23rd, we launched our first sale The Bradery Cares, a sale made up of all the parts that have been returned to us by our customers since the beginning of 2020. This sale was an opportunity for us to commit by donating 100% of our profits to the foundation of Hospitals of France. Thanks to the support of our clients, we were able to donate 2.100 euros to the foundation in one week.
Are you going to continue these solidarity sales?
Given the enthusiasm and success of the first two operations, we decided to make it a permanent initiative by launching The Bradery Cares, Solidarity Sales. The idea? One-off sales during which we commit to various associations that are important to us. The Bradery Cares, Solidarity Sales will become weekly starting in September.
There is also an environmental issue with the objective of limiting waste in fashion. Could The Bradery ultimately only offer responsible brands?
The brands we work with have become aware of ecological issues and consumer expectations. We are helping them move in the right direction, as quickly as possible.
The containment generated a drop in sales in ready-to-wear. Has this had an influence on your partnerships?
At the start, yes, necessarily. Sales for the last two weeks of March were postponed, which led us to reinvent ourselves. “Challenging” but super interesting! Then, as soon as we had a little more visibility and that our partners, especially logistics, were able to organize with all the necessary hygiene measures, we were able to regain our growth. We were very well supported by our customers, who are increasingly loyal to us!
Do you think that this period of confinement will change the way of consuming French people?
There is going to be an impact. We believe that containment has accelerated general awareness of how to consume and the importance of protecting our planet. The alternative solutions to the new will therefore naturally do well: the second hand and the vintage.
The Bradery offers women’s ready-to-wear. Are you thinking of extending it to humans and children, or even to the world of beauty?
Yes ! The pre-launch of The Bradery Man took place the second week of June and was a great success. It is a challenge for us because our target today is almost exclusively female, and we started from scratch on the man. We are super happy to officially launch the man in September, with one sale per week at the start. In terms of beauty, we organize a few occasional sales. And on the child, we are talking to the most beautiful brands in this segment with Christmas as a goal. We are also thinking of opening up to the journey … We will tell you more very quickly!
Ideally, what will The Bradery look like in 10 years?
The privileged partner of the most beautiful brands, an international presence and a very beautiful community that comes to have fun every day with us.
And more broadly, how do you imagine fashion in a decade?
A more responsible industry, but one that continues to make us dream.
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